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08 CTS Radio & HVAC stopped working


sethc1020

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Hello, I have a 2008 CTS without navigation. From time to time my radio and ac controls will randomly go black and stop working. Sometimes they will come right back on and other times they will stay off for a day or so then randomly come back on. It started with just the radio but now its the entire panel but the clock, traction control and hazards still work. Now they have all been off for more than a week. I cannot get it to record CDs either, when I push record it looks like its working but then says something about not being able access the HDD while initializing. It also seems like it is losing power or the memory isn't working when the car is off because sometimes when I start it the CD will start at the beginning and not where it left off. I love the car but these Radio/AC Control issues are driving me crazy. Any info will help.

Thanks

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I would start with these fuses:

DISPLAY

NAV MTR fuse, 10 Amp, Underhood fuse block

RDO fuse, 15 Amp, Rear fuse block

RADIO

AMP fuse, 30 Amp, Rear fuse block

RDO fuse, 15 Amp, Rear fuse block

The rear fuse block is near the battery, through the door on the left side of the trunk against the wheel well.  The same fuse, the 15 Amp RDO fuse, supplies power to the displays and to the radio; I listed it for both the display and the radio because it appears on both schematics i the FSM.

If that doesn't fix it, I'll look up the locations of the grounds for the radio and post them here, but the next thing I would suggest is to look at the option sticker on the bottom of the spare tire cover and get the factory option numbers for your radio.  I took a cell phone picture of that sticker for my car and used that to make a list of all the factory options for my car for future reference.  The radio options are of the form

U2A, where "A" is one or more of J, K, R, S, T, X, Y, and possibly others

UQA or UAS, Bose speaker systems, if you have them.

The OBD codes will tell a lot about what is going on.  Autozone and others offer a free code reading service.  Some of them just read the PCM codes and we need the Body codes to diagnose the radio problems, so ask about that when you go in.  Without the OBD codes, all we have is a symptom list.  Since the modules record the results of about 2,000 tests of just about everything in the car and store a device trouble code (DTC) when something fails a test, they are invaluable in diagnosing problems.  Dealers rely on the OBD codes to provide support for your car.

CTS-V_LateralGs_6-2018_tiny.jpg
-- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes
-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data
-- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC
Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars.

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I second the pulling of the body codes....unfortunately nearly all of the free places that pull codes only can pull and clear engine dtc's. Most of those el cheapo scanners can't. It takes a more expensive one to read what you need. 

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Don't give up if the fuses don't do it.  We haven't checked the grounds and connectors yet.

A dongle with BlueTooth with included laptop or cell phone application will do the trick.  I use OBD Link from ScanTool:

https://www.scantool.net/

The included software/app will do to get started.  I use the pay version with the GM data add-on.  The $80 package, with your existing laptop, will pay for itself in the first 45 minutes of dealer tech time.

 

CTS-V_LateralGs_6-2018_tiny.jpg
-- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes
-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data
-- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC
Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars.

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Well took it to the dealership and 150 later was told that the radio is no good!!  Car only has 34,000 miles on it and the radio is broke already??  Ugh!!  They said a new radio will be 375 plus labor so close to and additional 500 on top of the 150 I already spent.  650 for a new radio, awesome.  Does anyone know how to get the programming codes to unlock a used one if I were to buy one to save a little money?

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When I bought my 1997 ETC new in late 1997, the radio had poor sensitivity, in that even some local stations would fade occasionally and out-of-town stations were unlistenable or just not strong enough to catch the tuner on "seek."  After a few months, it just quit, and the dealer replaced it on warranty with an identical refurbished radio, which was (and still likely is) excellent in every way.  It happens.

In the 2008 CTS without nav, the radio and the HVAC controls are in the same module.  Their testing/codes determined that this module is bad, apparently.

The radio in all GM products is programmed with the VIN and the network probably has passwords that need to be negotiated.  I don't know how to do this without a Tech II.  Anyone?  After-hookup procedures for aftermarket radio systems that talk to the car's network will help.

CTS-V_LateralGs_6-2018_tiny.jpg
-- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes
-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data
-- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC
Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars.

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Even a GM Tech 2 may not save you. GM has a couple of bulletins about used modules....here is a chunk of one...

"...... When a PCM or a body control type module is replaced, the VIN information must be programmed into the replaced (new) control module. A module which has had VIN information entered into it (for example, one taken from another vehicle) cannot be reprogrammed. VIN information can only be entered into new modules. ....."

 

This includes the SDM...Radio....etc. Pretty much any major module.

Kinda like what they say over at John Deere: "...you really don't own the vehicle software....you're just borrowing it.... It is still our software.."

 

 

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Yeah, it's all true.  But it's a powerful anti-theft deterrent, the perps knowing that if they steal your radio it won't ever work, and that if caught with it, it has the VIN inside it to support a nice charge of receiving stolen goods.

I think it takes the bonded locksmith features of the Tech II to program modules from scratch.  The dealer is best because the tech will have the peculiarities of your make, model, and module handy so that he knows that it needs to have the speaker option, phone, and OnStar options programmed in it too, not just the VIN.

CTS-V_LateralGs_6-2018_tiny.jpg
-- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes
-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data
-- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC
Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars.

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I don't understand what the codes are that you would want to get with the radio.

A new radio comes with interface connections as well as other wiring harness connections, and there are PROMs in the radio that the dealer tech uses the TECH II to store the VIN, the car's options, and other information that the radio's module needs to operate the radio and HVAC controls.  Since this EPROM and its contents are security and theft prevention things, the bonded locksmith privileges/passwords for the Tech II are required to do this.  Programming a new radio is just not a DIY job.

One huge thing in your favor is that, for a trained tech, this is not rocket science.  A good tech should be able to program the radio in 20 minutes or some such.  Ask the dealer for an estimate for the work; if it's high, shop around.

GM's dealer model is to have a lot of dealers so that consumers have a choice.  Imports such as BMW, Mercedes, and a lot of other makes have a smaller number of dealers that each have a high volume of cars - but if you don't like what you hear from one, it may be difficult or impractical to talk to a second dealer, or a third.  With a Cadillac, if you have a rare or difficult problem with your car, you have the option to find a dealer that is comfortable with the job.

CTS-V_LateralGs_6-2018_tiny.jpg
-- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes
-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data
-- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC
Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars.

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  • 3 years later...

Did your navigation black out also? Im having the same problem.  I managed to get my navi unstuck somit goes up and down now but it just shows the Cadillac logo. Ive got no radio, heat and air controls, hvac or whatever ive got nothing.! However on a positive note when these do quit at least the air is stuck on auto. So what ya think guys same issue as above??

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1 hour ago, South Sucka said:

Did your navigation black out also? Im having the same problem.  I managed to get my navi unstuck somit goes up and down now but it just shows the Cadillac logo. Ive got no radio, heat and air controls, hvac or whatever ive got nothing.! However on a positive note when these do quit at least the air is stuck on auto. So what ya think guys same issue as above??

I didn't have navigation but everything else sounds exactly the same as what happened to me. My ac would stick where ever it was set at when everything would go out. Eventually it went out and never came back on. Took it to the dealership and was told the head unit was shot and had to be replaced. Almost everything on that console, heat, AV, ect is powered by the radio. Had to replace it. Whatever you do, DO NOT get a used one! They can no longer be unlocked at the dealership like they were in the past. I learned this the hard way even after my dealership told me they could. GM no longer allows "computer" parts that have previously had VIN information stored in them to be transferred to a new vehicle or "Unlocked". Long story short you're going need a new head unit and the dealer will have to install and program it.

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